The Best Confidence-Boosting Summer-Body Buys

While we may have a cabinet full of acid-based face peels, the focus has remained on grainy scrubs for body care. Fast but superficial, they buff the surface to polish skin – unlike chemical peels, which lift dead cells and work at a deeper level to improve your complexion’s overall condition. Admittedly, the choice of acid-based body peels is currently small (but growing), yet one standout formula is Lancer’s The Method: Body Nourish. Comprising glycolic and hyaluronic acids, plus a creamy skin-smoothing finish, it works like a premium face cream to leave dull, flat-looking skin plump, glowing and polished. (Unsurprisingly, it’s the hero product Dr. Lancer advises his LA clients use for two weeks before walking the red carpet.) Also good is Tata Harper’s Resurfacing Body Serum, which uses a blend of AHAs, plus peptides and vitamin C, to treat a plethora of issues in one go. You can use it daily to reduce dullness, crepe-like texture and an uneven skin tone.

When something works brilliantly on our face, we want exactly the same results for our body. Cue Dr. Dennis Gross Skincare’s DRx SpectraLite BodyWare Pro, which – like his famed LED masks – utilizes collagen-inducing red light (good for improving skin on hands, chest, stomach and knees) and breakout-clearing blue light (ideal for problem chests or, with a bit of dexterity, backs) to target specific areas. Be consistent and you’ll see results; research shows red light is good for sleep, too. Elsewhere, NuFace will help to firm and sculpt your complexion, while the NuBody Skin Toning Device uses the same micro-current technology to achieve a similar effect on your body. Use it to smooth skin on your hips, stomach and thighs, or work it over your upper arms before an evening out. Five minutes on each arm seems to ‘iron out’ the flesh, if only for a few hours (the pulse targets skin, not muscle), but regular use should yield longer-lasting results.

Adding a bit of color and sheen instantly makes you look better. The skin below the chin, in particular, can comprise a mix of textures and tones (think dry, super-dry or oily), so using something that unifies them immediately makes you look more finished. Charlotte Tilbury’s Supermodel Body is a classic skin-finishing tint that works well, while 111Skin’s Rose Gold Radiance Body Oil is a deeply hydrating yet lightweight oil with golden pigments for a blurring effect. I mix it with a body lotion for my arms and legs, then apply it neat to highlight my shins and shoulders. However, the one shade can be limiting, so Westman Atelier’s silky Lit Up Highlight Stick is a great alternative. Available in Lit, Nectar, Biscuit, Petal and Brûlée, it delivers the prettiest, dewiest hit of iridescence to face and body, and works for most skin tones.

It may be old-school and dull, but dry-body brushing works. It was Dr. Barbara Sturm who originally inspired me to make twice-weekly brushing part of my routine, she told me: “When I do it, I see the difference in tone and texture in just weeks.” Body expert Nichola Joss (famous for top-to-toe beauty Oscar prepping for her A-list clients) makes the process fast and fuss-free by using small, round brushes – one in each hand (using two brushes halves the time it takes) – to work briskly up the body before a shower or in the shower. Equally effective to get sluggish lymph moving is having a ‘Scandi shower’ (alternate warm- and cold-water shower jets over legs and hips) a few times a week, and spend time every day massaging in a nourishing treatment oil or lotion. Natura Bissé’s C+C Vitamin Body Cream is packed with vitamins C and E and rosa mosqueta oil, while La Mer’s The Reparative Body Lotion contains caffeine to help deflate heavy, puffy thighs and calves. For added firming, try Sisley’s Sisleÿa L’Intégral Anti-Âge Concentrated Firming Body Cream, focusing on areas in need of tightening, such as arms, inner thighs and stomach.

Depending on your preferred texture, these are three of the best:

1. Dr. Barbara Sturm’s Anti-Aging Body Cream offers the perfect consistency for virtually every skin type and – like her famous skincare – sinks in quickly to deeply moisturize, without feeling too rich or heavy.

2. Nécessaire’s The Body Serum feels like a weightless gel but offers five different sizes of hyaluronic acid to work both superficially and deep into the skin, and is paired with niacinamide to promote a softer, smoother skin texture and a more even tone.

3. U Beauty’s The Super Body Hydrator has the same cosseting, creamy texture as the excellent Super Hydrator, and works beautifully to treat dry, dehydrated skin, fast – leaving it looking and feeling velvety-soft.